MINNEAPOLIS, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) was awarded a $35.8 million contract for the Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the Hard Target Void Sensing Fuze (HTVSF) program. The 37-month EMD contract begins in March 2011 and will allow ATK to further refine the HTVSF design and perform all qualification testing necessary to move into production. The program is a joint effort between the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, and ATK. The EMD contract was awarded by the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The HTVSF is an advanced technology, cockpit-programmable fuze that provides the capability to destroy deeply-buried targets not reachable by other fuzing options. It will provide multiple delay arming and detonation times, as well as a void sensing function which allows precision activation of the fuze. The HTVSF is intended to be used with all current and future families of 2000 and 5000 pound air delivered penetrating weapons.

As an industry leader in advanced fuzing technology, ATK developed the all-electronic HTVSF that builds on its extensive design and production experience. The HTVSF incorporates advanced sensors, algorithms, and hardened electronics technology to offer the warfighter unprecedented capability against the most sophisticated targets.

"ATK has a tremendous engineering and operations team dedicated to making HTVSF a success, and we are proud to have been selected," said Mike Kahn, President of ATK Missile Products Group. "Our expertise in the design, development and production of innovative, reliable, and affordable precision fuzing products positions ATK well to meet future needs."

"ATK has been developing hard target defeat fuzing technology for more than a decade and has taken the best attributes and incorporated them into the HTVSF," said Dave Fine, Vice President, Fuzing and Warheads. He continued, "We will deliver a fuze with unprecedented survivability and precision into the hands of our warfighters to allow destruction of high-value, deeply-buried targets not reachable with today's fuzing options."

Upon successful completion of EMD, ATK expects to transition into low rate initial production (LRIP) in April 2014 and then become the primary supplier of the HTVSF.

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 24 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, and revenues of approximately $4.8 billion. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.